There are recreational anglers who have taken a long look at the Fishery Science Improvement Act and believe there is nothing in it that will improve fishing.
Some say tackle and boating industry professionals around the country are being led to believe the new bill in the House and Senate (HR2309/S1916) would actually improve science and help keep anglers on the water in 2012.
However, Atlantic coastal fishermen who HAve read the legislation agree the bills promoted by the national sporting media and their industry lobbyists do nothing to actually fix the science, nor will they truly keep important recreational fisheries open to coastal anglers.
“It doesn’t do anything to improve the science,” said Capt. Mark Brown of South Carolina. “It seems to lack any real direction and is very confusing to people who think there’s some type of scientific requirement written in.
“These are very short bills to read, but they don’t appear to have enough information in there to make a difference in terms of the actual assessments that have been compiled by NOAA,” Brown added.
According to the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), the two-page HR2304 is structured primarily to delay deadlines for annual catch limits (ACL) and accountability measures in those fisheries in which a peer-reviewed stock survey and stock assessment has not been performed within the past five years, and only if the Commerce Secretary determines that overfishing is not occurring, severely restricting the number of fisheries in which fishermen could apply for management relief.
“Species like haddock, cod, summer flounder, black sea bass, porgies, amberjack and even king mackerel, these have all been assessed within the past few years so none of them would qualify for statutory assistance under this particular legislation,” said Jim Hutchinson managing director of the RFA.
“East Coast fishermen especially who’ve spearheaded efforts to reform Magnuson, making national headlines through rallies and organized protests, they’ve suddenly found themselves boxed out of the process by Beltway insiders masquerading as reformers.”
Because it has science in its title and is being promoted by lobbyists at the boating and fishing trade groups, many industry members and sportswriters believe it can actually help anglers.
“Sadly, fishermen on the water who would be directly impacted by the legislation who’ve actually read the bill seem to agree that it doesn’t do anything to improve science nor will it have much positive impact on their ability to keep on fishing,” Hutchinson added.